Systems and methods for generating custom reports based on point-of-sale data

ABSTRACT

A method of generating custom reports based on point-of-sale data transferred between multiple remote computing devices and a central computing device includes generating point-of-sale data at multiple remote locations, transferring the point-of-sale data to a central computing device from multiple computing devices at the respective multiple remote locations, defining a custom report format, the custom report format specifying at least two of the multiple remote locations and specifying a date range, the date range and the at least two multiple remote locations being freely selectable by a user, generating a custom report using the custom report format, the custom report being based on point-of-sale data related to the specified remote locations and the specified date range, and communicating the custom report to a human being. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium for generating custom reports is also disclosed, as are subscription services, computer systems, graphical user interfaces and other features.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The subject matter of this application is related to the subject matterof U.S. patent application No. 60/157,467, filed Oct. 1, 1999, which isincorporated by reference herein and priority to which is claimed under35 U.S.C. §119(e).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the electronic collection and collation ofinformation from various data sources. More particularly, embodiments ofthe invention create custom-formatted reports, based on point-of-saledata from franchise restaurants, for example, that authorized users canaccess easily from multiple locations.

2. Description of Related Art

Embodiments of the invention use the Internet for transmittingpoint-of-sale data between computing devices. The Internet hasterminology specific to it. The following terms should assist inunderstanding the Internet in general and embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein:

HTML: Hypertext Mark Up Language. The language that web-based documentsare written in.

Browser: Software that allows you to interact with HTML documents.

IE: Internet Explorer. A commonly used browser.

URL: Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a web site.

Web Page: A single HTML document (it may be more than one page long whenprinted).

Web Site: A collection of pages written in HTML.

Home Page: The first page of a web site or the first page that a browserdisplays when it is started.

Download: The process of moving information from the Internet to yourcomputer. When you look at a site in your web browser, the informationis downloaded.

Upload: The process of moving information from your computer to theInternet.

HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The method of moving HTML documents.

Hyperlink (link): The method of moving around an HTML document. Linkscan be graphics or text. Links can take you to another page in a site,to a different site, or to an e-mail form.

FTP: File Transfer Protocol. The method of moving non-HTML documents(such as graphic and daily extract files).

WWW: World Wide Web. An area of the Internet where web sites are stored.Also the first three letters of most URLs.

Internet: A collection of HTML documents that are accessible to userswho have access to the Internet.

ISP: Internet Service Provider: A company that allows Internet usersaccess to their computers. The company from which you rent the abilityto connect to the Internet.

GUI: Graphical User Interface. Pronounced “gooey.” A program that usesgraphics to enable users to interface with information. IE, Windows 95and Windows 98 are GUIs.

Point-of-sale systems have enjoyed tremendous popularity in therestaurant industry and other industries. Such systems typically performdata input and storage, and, in combination with back-office orback-of-the-house systems, perform corresponding analysis and output.Inventory control, suggestive selling prompts, accurate timekeeping andscheduling, remote access management, coupon usage and effectivenessanalysis, purchase-order generation based on historical sales, and otherrecord keeping and analysis activities are among the functions that suchsystems can perform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Using the power and speed of the Internet, embodiments of the inventionelectronically collect and collate information from point-of-sale datasources. That information then is turned into custom-formatted reportsthat authorized users can access easily using any computer that hasInternet access and a suitable web browser, e.g. Internet Explorer.

Embodiments of the invention work effortlessly, with little or nochanges needed in the underlying technology infrastructure. Franchisees,for example, do not need to invest in expensive additional equipment orsoftware, according to embodiments of the invention. Additionally,administrative tasks can be performed by just one person (depending onthe number of stores in the franchise or other operation). Often thebiggest hurdle to implementing new technology is the cost of equipmentand/or personnel. In most cases, however, embodiments of the inventionremove both of those hurdles, making it easier to receive quality,meaningful information about a business, e.g. a franchise operation.

By using the Internet, users with appropriate permission can set uptheir own report subscriptions and can request reports on anycombination of stores for any range of dates, for example. Additionally,although reports are delivered over the Internet and are displayed usingbrowser technology, the access web site is protected by appropriatesecurity strategies. A valid user name and password are required, andautomatic log-out occurs when a user leaves the site inactive for morethan a desired time period, e.g. 15 minutes. Additionally, the data isin read-only format, so general users do not have the ability to makechanges to the data source.

Other advantages and features of the invention in its variousembodiments will be apparent from the remainder of this patentapplication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be described with respect to thefigures, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a computer system according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing locations and organizationalunits, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a screen map diagram, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5 shows a log-in screen, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 shows a requested reports screen, according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 7 shows a requested reports screen with expanded drop-down list,according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 shows a week-to-date report request screen, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 shows another portion of the FIG. 8 screen;

FIG. 10 shows a screen including a restaurant selection box, accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 shows an acknowledgement screen, according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 12 shows the FIG. 11 screen with a notifier icon;

FIG. 13 shows the FIG. 12 screen with a drop-down list having ahighlighted item, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 shows a screen listing a requested report, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 shows a Sales Mix Report request screen, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 shows a Periodic Sales Report request screen, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 17-18 show a Data Grouping drop-down list on the FIG. 16 screen;

FIG. 19 shows a Planned Sales Report request screen, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 20 shows a Day Part Mix Report request screen, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 shows a subscription request screen, according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 22 shows end date and begin date boxes for use in requesting asubscription, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 23 shows a portion of a new subscription request screen, accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 24 shows a Week-To-Date/Period-To-Date sample report, according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25A shows a first portion of a Sales Mix sample report, accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25B shows a second portion of a Sales Mix sample report, accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 26 shows a Periodic Sales Sample report, according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 27 shows a Price Variation sample report, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 28 shows a Planned Sales sample report, according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 29 shows a Day Part Mix sample report, according to an embodimentof the invention; and

FIG. 30 shows a Menu Item sample report according to an embodiment ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention have wide application to a variety ofbusinesses and business operations. Although primary embodiments of theinvention will be described with respect to point-of-sale systems inrestaurants, and, more specifically, to generating custom-formattedreports based on the point-of-sale data, the invention is notnecessarily limited to those embodiments.

The following terminology may be helpful in understanding certainembodiments and features of the invention:

Accounting Dates: A calendaring system that divides a year into 1328-day periods. Accounting dates appear in day/week/period/year(D/W/PP/YY) format. For instance, 4/3/11/99 means the 4^(th) day of the3^(rd) week in period 11 of 1999. This system is different than thoseused in certain back-office computer systems, which use aperiod/week/day/year (PP/W/D/YY) format and where the day mentionedpreviously would be represented as 11/3/4/99.

Calendar Dates: Dates as they are generally used in the United States.Calendar dates are displayed in month/date/year (MM/DD/YY) format.

Data Source: The information that is downloaded from the point-of-salesystem in each store. Also called the “daily extract (TBE) file.”

POS System: Point of sale system. The equipment and related softwarethat gather information at the point of sales, often including a cashregister.

Comparable: An option that can be chosen, while requesting some reports,that instructs embodiments of the invention to adjust the outcome ofreports that have both a current and a prior period to include data fromthe daily extract file only if the data appears in both periods. Forinstance, say a user requests a Sales Mix Report, to be described, forboth the current week and the same week one year ago for a certaindistrict. If the franchisee has added a new store to that district inthe last few months, turning on the Comparable feature excludes the newstore from the current period in this report only.

ICOS: Ideal Cost of Sale. The amount that it costs to make an item, e.g.a menu item, if it is made using the correct amount of each ingredientor raw material.

Referring to FIG. 1, embodiments of the invention generate customreports based on point-of-sale data transferred over the Internetbetween multiple remote computing devices 10, 20 and central computingdevice 30. Communication relay 40 is provided to communicate e.g.electronic signals relating to or representing the data. Communicationrelay 40 preferably includes or is embodied in the Internet in itsvarious forms and definitions, including e-mail and other communicationmechanisms. Of course, the invention contemplates using futuregenerations of the Internet, e-mail communication systems and other newforms of electronic communication that may arise.

To simplify the disclosure, only two remote computing devices 10, 20 areillustrated in FIG. 1. Embodiments of the invention, however,contemplate a much larger number of such computing devices. Thecomputing devices, and/or their respective locations, can be organizedinto multiple hierarchical or organizational units, as will bedescribed. Additionally, although only one central computing device 30is illustrated, embodiments of the invention contemplate multiplecentral computing devices 30 if needed or desired for a particularapplication or environment.

Remote computing devices 10, 20, as well as central computing device 30,include various input/output, memory, storage and other devices such asmouse 50, disk 60, CD-ROM 70 and other computer-readable media forstoring computer programs, data and other information. Additionally,each remote computing device 10, 20 preferably is operably connected toor itself includes traditional point-of-sale equipment known in the art,such as cash register 80 and/or associated equipment.

Turning to FIG. 2, multiple restaurants, stores, retail sales facilitiesor other remote locations 90 are illustrated, each having a separatestore identification number as shown. Each location 90 communicates byan appropriate direct communication link 100 to central location 95,and/or by the more centralized communication relay 40 of FIG. 1. Eachremote location 90 includes one or more remote computing devices 10, 20,preferably connected to a communications interface. Central location 95,such as the corporate offices of a business, includes one or morecentral computing devices 30.

According to embodiments of the invention, central location 95 can betemporarily or permanently moved to one of the remote locations 90, andthe terms “central location” and “remote location” should be sointerpreted as appropriate. An owner of multiple franchise locations,for example, can monitor franchise operations not only from a corporateoffice, but also from one of the remote locations at which a temporaryor permanent “central office” has been set up.

Stores 90 are organized into organizational units, according toembodiments of the invention. According to one embodiment, these unitscomprise geographic districts 110, as illustrated in FIG. 2.Alternatively, the organizational units can be districts or divisionsthat rely on other than geographical divisions. They can also be of amore conceptual nature, such as fiscal year units 120 denoting the yearin which a particular store began operations. Significantly, each storeor other location 90 can be assigned to any number of organizationalunits. For example, store 3 in FIG. 2 is in both unit 110 and unit 120.Organizational units can be defined in any manner desired for aparticular application or environment.

FIG. 3 illustrates one method embodiment according to the invention. Asindicated at 130, the method includes generating data, such aspoint-of-sale data, at multiple remote locations. The data can begenerated by a cash register, bar code scanner or other reader, or otherdevice. The generating device is operably coupled to at least onecomputing device, or is embodied in a computing device, as describedabove.

At 140, the point-of-sale data is transferred to a central computingdevice from the multiple computing devices at the respective multipleremote locations. Each remote location can include one or more computingdevices. According to one embodiment, the transfer occurs automaticallyby internal or external e-mail. Separate fields or specialized spacingwithin the body of the e-mail designate particular data, according toone embodiment. The transfer also can occur in other ways, such as byusing other aspects of the Internet, by floppy disk, wireless link,satellite hookup, cellular network, or other known ways of transferringdata from one computing device to another.

A custom report format is defined at 150. According to one embodiment,the custom report format specifies at least two of the multiple remotelocations and specifies a date range. The date range and the locationsare freely selectable by a user, as will be described.

A custom report then is generated at 160, using the custom reportformat. More specifically, the custom report is based on the e.g.point-of-sale data related to the remote locations and date rangespecified and freely selected by the user.

At 170, the custom report is communicated to a human being, such as acorporate officer, a franchise owner or manager, or other interestedparty at either the central location or at one or more of the remotelocations. The custom report can be communicated by direct display atone of the computing devices, by e-mail to a designated party, otherwiseover the Internet, in hard copy, or in the other ways described above.

Specific embodiments of the invention particularly directed to therestaurant industry now will be described with reference to FIGS. 4-30.As referenced earlier, however, the invention applies to other computingenvironments and industries, not just the restaurant industry. Further,as technology advances, the invention likely will use other modes ofcommunication and interaction with the Internet, not just those known atpresent.

According to one embodiment, a user of the disclosed system has acomputer, for example a standard personal computer, with a recentversion of an Internet browser, e.g. Internet Explorer. According to oneembodiment, the browser should have the Active X Controller loaded andincorporated. An Internet connection or other connection with a suitablecommunication mechanism is also desirable. To receive reports receivedby e-mail, it is desirable for a user to have standard datadecompression software, such as WinZip.

At least two types of users are contemplated, each with their ownpermissions and assigned capabilities to use the system. General userswill have different permissions than administrators, for example.Specifically, in the restaurant industry, a restaurant general manageris able to access only information about the store or stores that he/shemanages. A district manager can access any or all of the stores forwhich he/she has responsibility. Officers at the corporate level,owners, or other persons higher up in the organization, can see data forall stores. Administrators have the right to make changes to how thesystem is configured, the power to create user profiles and passwords,and the ability to update the system to reflect acquisition of newstores, changes in menu items or pricing, or other changes.

The first step in using the system is to access a login screen, step 200of FIG. 4. After connecting to the Internet, for example, the webbrowser can be directed to the URL for the login page. For futurelogins, a desktop shortcut can be created to the login page, the pagecan be made a “favorite” or “bookmark” in the browser, or the page canbe made the home page for the browser.

One specific login page 200 according to an embodiment of the inventionis shown in FIG. 5. The user name and password fields are casesensitive. When a correct user name and password are entered, requestedreports screen 210 appears. One such requested reports screen isillustrated in FIG. 6. Requested reports screen 210 is the startingpoint for requesting reports, setting up subscriptions, viewing lists ofrequested reports and performing other functions.

Requested reports are listed in report detail area 220 of screen 210.Reports remain listed in area 220 until they are actively deleted by theuser, according to one embodiment. Unread reports appear first on thelist, followed by read reports. Reports can be added to area 220 bydirectly requesting them, or by having them sent to the user by thesubscription or forward functions, to be described.

Report detail area 220 includes a number of columns of information. Inthe leftmost column, forward button 230 allows a user to forward areport that already has been run. Importance indicator column 240 showsif a report has been requested with high priority, denoted by a redexclamation point or other symbol. Column 250 indicates the read orunread status of a report, a report that has been read showing an openenvelope, for example. Column 260 includes “to be deleted” boxes. If acheck mark appears in the box for a specific report, the report will bedeleted the next time the user clicks delete button 270. Descriptioncolumn 280 displays the description given each report at the time thatit was requested. The type of report requested is shown in column 290,the number of pages in column 300, the run date in column 310, and anypersons to whom the report was forwarded in column 320.

To open a report, its description in column 280 is “clicked” orotherwise designated. To print a report, the description is clicked andthe report appears on the screen, e.g. in the lower portion of screen210 in a manner to be described. With the report appearing on thescreen, print button 330 is clicked. Print parameters, such as printrange, may be requested by the site at that time.

To forward a report to another user, forward button 230 is clicked, areport description and delivery method information entered, and a submitbutton clicked. The report will be forwarded by e-mail or other desiredcommunication method. Reports can be forwarded to other users of thesystem by web or e-mail delivery, or to non-users of the system by e.g.any valid e-mail address.

The reports listed in area 220 can be sorted in ascending or descendingalphabetical or other order by clicking the appropriate column headingone or more times. The time of day can be displayed at 350, and 360 isan icon that indicates whether a requested report has been generated andis ready for viewing by the user.

Drop-down list 370 is shown in inactive form in FIG. 6 and active formin FIG. 7. To update the contents of requested reports screen 210, the“Requested Reports” item can be selected from list 370. Alternatively,the standard browser refresh icon can be clicked. To view current reportsubscriptions, the “Report Subscriptions” item list in 370 is chosen. Torequest a specific report, the appropriate report name in area 380 oflist 370 is chosen. According to the FIG. 7 embodiment, eight suchreports are available: Week To Date, Period To Date, Sales Mix, PeriodicSales, Price Variation, Planned Sales, Day Part Mix, and Menu Item.Specific aspects and features of these reports are described below. Ofcourse, any number of additional reports can be generated and arecontemplated by the invention, such as Ranking Reports, described below.

Once a report type is selected from list 370, the user is presented withone or more new report screens, as indicated at 390 in FIG. 4.

One specific new report screen, a Week To Date report request screen, isillustrated in FIGS. 8-9. Screen 400 is divided into an upper portion410, which remains substantially fixed, and lower portion 420, whichitself has upper and lower portions as indicated by vertical scroll bar430. FIG. 8 illustrates the top half of portion 420 and FIG. 9illustrates the lower half of portion 420.

Screen 400 includes restaurant selection box 440. Box 440 presents ahierarchical list of all restaurants available to the user, presented ingroups 450 such as the organizational units described above.Significantly, one restaurant can appear in more that one group. Theplus symbol (+) in front of a group name means that the group itselfcontains additional items, e.g. more groups and/or stores. To see thegroups/stores in that group, the user clicks the plus symbol. When allitems in that group are shown, the plus symbol is changed to a minussymbol (−), as indicated in FIG. 10.

In other words, to choose groups/stores in box 440, the user clicks theplus symbol in front of the highest group in the hierarchy, expandingthe list. The list continues to be expanded until the user sees thegroup/store desired for the report in question. The empty space in frontof the group/store name is clicked, and check mark 460 or otherappropriate symbol appears, as shown in FIG. 10. Groups/stores may beselected in any combination for each report. To unselect a selectedstore, check mark 460 is clicked once, making it disappear.

Box 440 is the subject of Active X Control, according to thisembodiment. Appropriate software, controls or other electronicinformation can be downloaded automatically to the user's personalcomputer or other computing device to activate and enable box 440. Datesbox 470 allows the user to choose the date format in which the desireddate range will be specified. Accounting dates, calendar dates, “taco”or other proprietary system date formats can be selected. Accountingdates help ensure the user is comparing like periods of time, but anydate format can be used according to embodiments of the invention.

Report date box 480 accepts the date variables for the requested report,in the format specified by the user. Depending on the report requested,there may be multiple report date fields. The Week To Date reportrequest of FIG. 8, however, requires only one field.

For generating comparables, a comparable box (not illustrated in FIG. 8)can be provided on screen 400, preferably underneath report date box 480or in another readily accessible location. The comparable box enablesthe user to adjust the outcome of a report, if it has a current periodand a prior period, to include data from the daily extract file only ifthe data appears in both periods, as described above. For example, if auser requests a Week To Date report for the current week and the sameweek one fiscal year ago, for a particular district, and a new store hasbeen added to that district recently, activating the comparable featurewould exclude the new store from the current period in the currentreport.

In FIG. 9, a report description can be entered in box 490. The reportdescription will appear in column 280 of FIG. 6, as previouslydescribed. Because the run date and report type are already shown onrequested reports screen 210, the most helpful information to include indescription box 490 often is the date range and/or store grouping.

Importance box 500 can be checked to activate column 240 of requestedreports screen 210. Delivery method is selected at 510. According to theillustrated embodiment, the delivery method can be either web or e-maildelivery. If web delivery is chosen, the report will appear on requestedreports screen 210 once the request has been processed. If e-maildelivery is requested, the report will not appear on the requestedreports screen. Instead, it will be forwarded to the e-mail addressentered in box 520.

Once all of the relevant information is entered, the user clicks submitbutton 530. If the user has omitted any item of necessary information, amessage will appear prompting the user to enter the information in theappropriate field. Otherwise, an acknowledgement screen, such as screen540 in FIG. 11, appears with acknowledgement 550. The user can thenrequest another report or simply wait for the requested report toappear.

If the user simply waits, envelope 360 or other suitable icon appears onthe same acknowledgement screen 540, as shown in FIG. 12. The user thenhighlights the “Requested Reports” item in drop down list 370, as shownin FIG. 13. Shortly thereafter, the requested report appears in area220, as shown in FIG. 14. Other reports then can be generated and addedto the list of requested reports in area 220.

Other new report screens 390 (FIG. 4) are shown in FIGS. 15-20. FIG. 15shows Sales Mix Report request screen 570, with current period boxes580, prior period boxes 590 and comparable box 600, the function and useof which is described above.

FIG. 16 shows Periodic Sales Report request screen 610. In addition topreviously described boxes and fields, screen 610 includes data groupingdrop-down list 620, illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 17-18. Dategrouping drop-down list 630 includes choices for individual days of theweek, the entire week, or the entire period.

FIG. 19 shows Planned Sales Report request screen 640, which includesreport year box 650 for entry of the desired year for the report. FIG.20 shows the lower portion of Day Part Mix Report request screen 660.The user selects start and end times in boxes 670 and enters adescription for the day part in box 680. When Add Day Part button 690 isclicked, the times and description appear in Current Day Part Settingsbox 700. To remove a day part from box 700, the appropriate line item inbox 700 is highlighted, and Remove Day Part button 710 clicked.

For some business, an official business day begins at 6:00 a.m. on oneday and ends at 5:59 a.m. on the next day. If the user tries to set up aday part that begins before 6:00 a.m. and ends after 6:00 a.m., an errormessage is generated, according to one embodiment, telling the user thatthe end time is before the start time. Suitable error messages can begenerated or other indications provided for official business dayshaving other start and end times, of course.

Returning momentarily to FIG. 4, a user can proceed from requestedreports screen 210 to subscription request screen 720, using the “ReportSubscriptions” item in drop-down list 370 (FIG. 7), for example. Onespecific subscription request screen 720 is shown in FIG. 21.

Subscriptions are requests for reports that recur. For instance, if auser wishes to see a Period To Date report at the end of each week, theuser can create a subscription that automatically forwards the report tothe user, by web delivery, e-mail or other mode, every week.

Report type selection drop-down list 730 enables the user to begin theprocess of setting up a subscription by selecting a report type. Thereports appearing in list 730 can be the same as those appearing in list370 on requested reports screen 210, for example, or can be a subset ofthose reports and/or include additional reports. Subscription detailarea 740 is similar to detail area 220 of requested reports screen 210(FIG. 6) and will not be described again in detail. The user may wish toinclude the word “subscription” in the description, so that it caneasily be determined, when the report is delivered, that it came from asubscription. To update the contents of screen 720, the “ReportSubscriptions” item from drop-down list 370 can be selected, or thebrowser refresh icon clicked. Other features of screen 720 are similarto those described with respect to previous screens and will not berepeated, to simplify the description.

Once a report type is selected from drop-down list 730, a respective newsubscription screen 750 appears, as indicated in FIG. 4. One portion ofscreen 750 asks the user to enter the relevant data for the specificreport, in a manner already described. In addition, each subscriptionscreen 750 includes end date and begin date boxes 760, 770, as shown inFIG. 22. Depending on the number of periods that the user is asked tospecify for a specific report, multiple boxes 760, 770 will appear. FIG.22 represents a Day Part Mix Report subscription request. Because bothcurrent periods and prior periods are required to be entered, eachperiod has its own end date box 760 and begin date box 770, as shown.

FIG. 23 shows selection box 780, which appears below the report set upboxes described earlier and below the boxes of FIG. 22, according to oneembodiment. Many features of FIG. 23 are similar to those of FIG. 9,except that they apply to report subscriptions instead of reportsthemselves. These features will not be repeated, to simplify thedisclosure.

Delivery ranking list 790 is used by the system to determine whatpriority to give to the processing of subscriptions. Each day, thesystem processes the subscriptions that are due that day. A subscriptionwith a higher importance ranking will be processed before one having alower ranking. Rankings can include, in order, critical, very important,important, medium, and low, for example. If web delivery is chosen at800, the requested subscribed report will appear on the requestedreports screen. If e-mail delivery is requested at 800, the report willnot appear on the requested reports screen but will instead be forwardedto the designated e-mail address.

Setting Report Dates in Subscriptions

Embodiments of the invention are flexible enough to allow a user to askfor any report, including any subscribed report, to cover any period oftime. To accomplish this flexibility, embodiments of the inventiondetermine a subscriptions date range in a relative, versus absolute,way.

Relative Versus Absolute Dates: Date ranges to be specified insubscriptions are relative. Because subscriptions are designed to berepeating in nature, if the user were to set an absolute begin date orend date, the report would not recur. For example, if a report is set upto show data from Tuesday, September 14 to Monday, September 20(absolute report dates), that subscription would only run once, as thosedates occur only once in a given year.

Setting report dates in relative terms, however, allows the report torun every time the specified relationship between dates exists.Therefore, according to embodiments of the invention, a user picks anend date and defines its relationship to the beginning date as a datethat is “one week earlier,” for example. In this case, the subscriptioncan and will run a report every day. This is because the relationshipbetween the end date and the beginning date exists every day. For anydate selected as an end date, there is always a date that is one weekearlier.

Depending on the specific report for which a subscription is set up,more than one date may be requested. The Price Variation report, forexample, asks for a beginning and end date. The Week To Date report, onthe other hand, asks only for a report date. The Sales Mix report andDay Part Mix report described earlier ask for four dates—current begindate, current end date, prior begin date, and prior end date.

According to one embodiment, all reports are based on the most currentdaily extract file. According to one embodiment, the most current dailyextract file represents the day before the current date. Therefore, onTuesday, September 21, the daily extract file is for business onSeptember 20. Therefore, whenever a subscription is created, the“extract date” is always yesterday.

Report dates build on each other, beginning with the most current dateand extending backwards. Therefore, a subscription always begins bysetting the end date. If there is more than one report date in asubscription, subsequent report dates will always be set in relation tothe end date.

Because the user sets the end date first, the box (e.g. box 760 in FIG.22) for the end date is preferably shown first, i.e. above thecorresponding begin date box (770). The end date is set in relation tothe date of the most recent daily extract, which is always yesterday.Once the end date is determined, the begin date is set in relationshipto it.

The following tables provide examples of date ranges that can be set,and how they would be set using boxes 760, 770 according to theinvention. The first table shows calendar dates and the second tableshows the same examples using accounting dates.

Examples of calendar dates (Month/Day/Year) End Date Current Begin DateResult Current Extract Go Resulting Go Begin Date Date Date VariableBack End Date Variable Back Date Range  9/1/99 8/31/99 Day 2 days8/29/99 Period 2 Periods 7/9/99 7/9/99 to Begin 8/29/99 Date (8/4/99)8/25/99 8/24/99 Week 5 weeks 7/14/99 Date 3 weeks 6/23/99 6/23/99 toBegin (7/14/99) 7/14/99 Date (8/18/99)

Examples using equivalent accounting dates (Day/Week/Period/Year) EndDate Current Begin Date Result Current Extract Go Resulting Go BeginDate Date Date Variable Back End Date Variable Back Date Range 1/1/10/997/4/9/99 Day 2 days 5/4/9/99 Period 2 periods 1/1/7/99 1/1/7/99 to Begin5/4/9/99 Date (1/1/9/99) 1/4/9/99 7/3/9/99 Week 5 weeks 1/2/8/99 Date 3weeks 1/3/7/99 1/3/7/99 to Begin (1/2/8/99) 1/2/8/99 Date (1/3/9/99)

Report Information

Illustrated embodiments of the invention include nine separate reports,the theory of each of which will now be described. As describedpreviously, reports may be customized to look at any combination ofstores, from one store to all stores, for any date range. Each reportpreferably shows the date and time it was requested, and the number ofpages in the report, also in the manner previously described. Samplereports are shown in FIGS. 24-30.

1. Week To Date Report—FIG. 24

Report Theory: The Week To Date report shows the performance of aselected store(s) and/or group(s) for over 40 different metrics of thebusiness for the current day, as well as for the current week and thesame week in the previous year.

Using This Report: Because it contains all the pertinent informationabout a business, it can serve as a starting place for all managementdiscussions, yet each user can focus on different information based ontheir interest. For instance, a franchisee might be most interested inthe WTD and YTD sales figures, while a manager might focus on overringsand a restaurant general manager may look at labor figures.

2. Period To Date Report—FIG. 24

Report Theory: The Period To Date report is identical to the Week ToDate report except gives daily and period to date information.

Using This Report. Use it as you would the Week To Date report.

3. Sales Mix Report—FIGS. 25A and 25B

Report Theory: The Sales Mix report shows what products were sold byunit and by dollar value.

Using This Report:

The report can help a user understand how selected store(s) are doingrelative to company goals.

It can help the user decide to raise or lower prices. When prices arechanged, the user can quickly see the impact of those changes on thenumber of units sold.

The user can see if marketing modules are successful. It can aid indeciding whether to vary from suggested prices for future marketingmodules.

4. Periodic Sales Report—FIG. 26

Report Theory: The Periodic Sales Report allows the user to look at twoperiods of time and compare performance on the following businessmetrics: including sales, deposit, cash +/−, items per transaction,average ticket, counter ticket, percent beverage, transactions, overringdollars, overring percent, number of overrings, delete dollars, deletepercent, number of deletes, drive through time, counter time, number ofcars, drive through dollars, drive through dollars percent, average percar, or ICOS variance.

Using This Report: This report can help the user focus attention on onebusiness metric by looking at current and prior activity for a date orrange of dates. It can also help determine trend.

5. Price Variation Report—FIG. 27

Report Theory: The Price Variation Report compares the menu item pricescharged at the POS against an authorized price list. This report isuseful in determining where stores may not have made required priceupdates or where errors were made in those updates or in the system.Only menu items where there is some reported price variance will show onthis report.

Using This Report: District managers and store managers will find thisreport helpful in determining that price updates are occurring on atimely and accurate basis.

6. Planned Sales Report—FIG. 28

Report Theory: The Planned Sales report shows the plan numbers that arecontained in the system.

Using This Report: This report lists the data entered in the system forplanned sales, figures which are used in many calculations in otherreports. If a store undergoes a remodel or if other planned or unplannedinterruptions (or upswings) occur in business, this report can be usedto see the current planned sales and begin the process of determining ifthese figures need to be changed.

7. Day Part Mix Report—FIG. 29

Report Theory: Day Part Sales Mix shows e.g. sales, transactions, andaverage checks by time periods as small as e.g. 15 minutes. A day partcan include as few as one 15-minute or smaller increment so that salesactivity can be tracked very closely. The day parts are set up by theuser at the time the report is requested and can be changed at as oftenas necessary.

Using This Report:

Some national marketing modules are aimed at boosting sales during acertain time period. This report can help a franchisee see if themodules are actually meeting the stated goals.

It can help the user decide whether to change a store's hours ofoperation or how to change staffing patterns.

8. Menu Item Report—FIG. 30

Report Theory: Like the Planned Sales report, the Menu Item Report liststhe product costs and profit margins that are contained in the system.It should be updated periodically.

Using This Report. This report shows you the relationship between thecost, price, and profit of each product the operation sells.

9. Ranking Report

There are actually three different ranking reports. The only differencebetween them is the variable they rank by—drive through speed ofservice, counter speed of service, and productivity, for example.Because the reports are identical except for this variable, theinformation description given below applies for all three reports.

Report Theory. This report ranks stores on a variety of variables, forinstance drive through or counter speed of service or productivity,showing the rankings for the day and for the WTD/PTD/CustomToDate. Italso imbeds the company average to enable the user to see which storesare above and below the company average. In addition, if the user picksa subset of all stores, those stores will be ranked in a separatesection of the report.

Using This Report: This report can be used to motivate district andstore managers, for example.

Report Data Definitions

Week To Date/Period To Date Report Data Definition

(Note: Because the Week To Date and Period To Date reports are identicalexcept for the period they cover, the data definitions are given onlyonce.)

This report includes six sections—the heading, the recap, top body, toptotal, bottom body, bottom total. The heading information and recapinformation appear only on the first page of the document. All the dataabout one stores appears in two lines, one in the top body and one inthe bottom body. The top and bottom totals appear on the last page ofthe report and total all the stores in the report.

Header Information H1 Stores: The store(s) and/or group(s) of storesincluded in the report. H2 From: The beginning date of the date rangeanalyzed. For WTD reports, it will always be the date of the Wednesdayof the week being analyzed. For PTD reports, it will always be the firstday of the period being analyzed, which will also be a Wednesday. H3 To:The date of the last daily extract (which will always be yesterday). ForWTD reports, it will always be no later than the Tuesday of the weekbeing analyzed. For PTD reports, it will always be no later than thelast day of the period being analyzed. H4 Number of days reporting: Thenumber of days in the date range. For WTD reports, the number will rangefrom 1 to 7. For PTD reports, the number will range from 1 to 28. H5Number of stores reporting: The number of stores summarized on thereport out of the number of stores requested by the user. These twonumber will usually be the same unless the Comparable box was checkedwhen the report was requested. Recap Information: Where appropriate, afigure is shown for both the day and the week/period. R1 Actual Sales:The total of the daily sales for the date shown in H3 and Weekly/PeriodSales for all the dates in the date range (from H2 to H3) for all storesshown in H1. R2 Historical Sales: The total of the daily sales andweekly/period sales for the same business day and week/period in theprevious year for all stores shown in H1. Plan: The average of theplanned daily and weekly/period sales for all stores shown in H1. R4 +/−Historical: The percentage of difference between the Actual (R1) andHistorical (R2) sales. R5 +/− Plan: The percentage of difference betweenActual (R1) and Planned (R3) sales. R6 +#- Projection: The percentage ofdifference between the actual and project plan sales for the day andweek/period, based on the performance of the stores shown in H1 in thereport to date (i.e., how far above or below projected plan the storeswill be at the current rate of sales). Top Body Information TB1 StoreNumber: Number of the store about which information in the subsequentcolumns is reported. TB2 Daily - Actual: Actual sales for the day of thereport (H3). TB3 Daily - Hist: Actual sales for the same accounting datein the previous year. TB4 Daily - % +/−: The percentage of differencebetween Actual (TB2) and Historical (TB3) sales. TB5 Daily - Plan: Theplanned sales for the day of the report (H3). TB6 Daily - % +/−: Thepercentage of difference between Actual (TB2) and Planned (TB5) sales.TB7 WTD/PTD - Actual: Actual sales to date for the current week/periodof the report. TB8 WTD/PTD - History: Actual sales for the sameaccounting date range in the previous year. TB9 WTD/PTD - % +/−: Thepercentage of difference between WTD/PTD Actual (TB7) and WTD/PTDHistorical (TB8) sales. TB10 WTD/PTD - Plan: The planned sales for theweek/period of the report. TB11 WTD/PTD - % +/−: The percentage ofdifference between WTD/PTD Actual (TB7) and WTD/PTD Planned (TB10)sales. TB12 WTD/PTD Comp Sales: The percentage of difference betweenWTD/PTD Actual sales and sales for the same accounting period in theprevious year. TB13 YTD Comp Sales: The percentage of difference betweenyear to date sales and year to date sales for the previous year. TB14Daily - Deposit: The actual cash deposit for the day of the report shownin H3. TB15 Daily - Cash +/−: The difference between the actual cashdeposit (TB14) and the cash deposit the POS system reported for the dayshown in H3. TB16 WTD/PTD Cash +/−: The difference between the actualcash deposit (TB14) and the cash deposit the POS system reported for theperiod of the report shown in H2 & H3. TB17 Item Tran: The number ofitems per transaction for the day of the report shown in H3. TB18 AvgTick: The average price per transaction for the day of the report shownin H3. TB19 Cnt Tick: The average price per transaction for countertransactions for the day of the report shown in H3. TB20 % Beverage: Thepercentage of actual sales (TB2) represented by beverages. TB21Transactions - Actual: The number of transactions for the day of thereport shown in H3. TB22 Transactions - Hist: The number of transactionsfor the same accounting date in the previous year. TB23 Transactions -+/−%: The percentage of difference between Actual (TB21) and Historical(TB22) number of transactions. Top Body Total Information TBT1 Totals:The totals or weighted averages for all columns shown in the Top Body.Bottom Body Information BB1 Store Number: The number of the store aboutwhich information in the subsequent columns is reported. BB2 Overrings -$: The dollar value of overrings for the day of the report shown in H3.BB3 Overrings - %: The percentage of Actual sales (TB2) represented bythe Dollar Value of overrings (BB2). BB4 Overrings - #: The number ofoverrings for the day of the report shown in H3. BB5 Deletes - #: Thedollar value of deleted transactions for the day of the report shown inH3. BB6 Deletes - %: The percentage of Actual sales (TB2) represented bythe Dollar Value of deletes (BB5). BB7 Deletes - #: Number of deletedtransactions for the day of the report shown in H3. BB8 Service Time -DT: The average time of transaction at the drive-through window asmeasured by the POS system (not drive-through timer) for the day shownin H3. BB9 Service Time - WTD/PTD: The average time of transaction atthe drive-through window for the WTD/PTD as measured by the POS system(not drive-through timer). BB10 Service Time - CNT: The average time oftransaction at the counter as measured by the POS system for the dayshown in H3. BB11 Service Time - WTD/PTD: The average time oftransaction at the counter for the WTD/PTD. BB12 Daily Labor - Actual:The actual number of labors hours for the day of the report shown in H3.BB13 Daily Labor - Allowed: Allowed number of labor hours for the day ofthe report shown in H3. BB14 Daily Labor - Actual Productivity: Thesales per actual labor hour (BB12) for the day shown in H3. BB15 DailyLabor - Allowed Productivity: The sales per allowed labor hour (BB13)for the day shown in H3. BB16 WTD/PTD Labor - Actual: The actual numberof labors hours for the WTD/PTD. BB17 WTD/PTD Labor - Allowed: Theallowed number of labor hours for the WTD/PTD. BB18 WTD/PTD Labor - +/−:The difference between the WTD/PTD Actual Labor (BB16) and Allowed Labor(BB17). BB19 Average Wage: The average wage paid to employees of thestore shown in BB1. BB20 % DL $: The percentage of actual sales (TB2)represented by daily labor costs for the day shown in H3. BB21 WTD/PTDLabor $: The dollar value of labor for the WTD/PTD. BB22 WTD Labor %:The percentage of WTD/PTD Actual sales (TB7) represented by WTD/PTDLabor (BB22). BB23 Number of Cars: The number of cars through thedrive-through window for the day of the report shown in H3 measured bythe POS system. BB24 Drive-Through $: The number of drive-throughtransactions for the day shown in H3. BB25 Drive-Through %: Thepercentage of Actual sales (TB2) represented by the dollar value ofdrive through transactions (BB25). BB26 Average Per Car: The averageticket per car for the day shown in H3. BB27 ICOS Variance - Daily: BB28ICOS Variance - PTD/PrWk: BB29 Daily Meal %: The percentage of Actualsales (TB2) that represented employee/promo meals for the day shown inH3. BB30 PTD/WTD Meal %: The percentage of WTD/PTD sales (TB7) thatrepresented employee/promo meals for the WTD/PTD. Bottom Body TotalInformation BBT1 Totals: The totals or weighted averages for all columnsshown in the Bottom Body.

Sales Mix Data Definition

This report includes seven sections—header, module recap, sales mixrecap, summary, summary total, detail, and detail total. The Detail andDetail Total sections of this report are not shown in this datadefinition. The data definitions are identical in content to the Summaryand Summary Total sections, except that a detail and detail total isdisplayed for each category, showing information in subsequent columnsfor each item in the category.

Header Information H1 Stores: The stores included in the report, shownby group name and/or store number. H2 Current Period: The beginning andend dates of the current period analyzed, including the number of daysin the period. H3 Prior Period: The beginning and end dates of the priorperiod analyzed, including the number of days in the period. ModuleRecap Information MR1 Date: The active date range for the moduledescribed in MR2. MR2 Description: The description of the module. MR3Origin: The origin of the module-either national or local. Sales MixRecap Information SMR1 Sales: Total dollar value of sales for thecurrent and prior periods and the percentage of change between the twoperiods. SMR2 Transactions: Total number of transactions for the currentand prior periods and the percentage of change between the two periods.SMR3 Avg Price/Item: The average price per item for the current andprior periods and the percentage of change between the two periods. SMR4Avg Ticket: The average ticket for the current and prior periods and thepercentage of change between the two periods. SMR5 Beverage Percent: Thepercent of sales that represent beverages in the current and priorperiods and the percentage of change between the two periods. SMR6Item/Transactions: The average number of items per transaction for thecurrent and prior periods and the percentage of change between the twoperiods. SMR7 Incidences: For selected menu items, the number oftransactions per 100 transactions for the current and prior periods andthe percentage of change between the two periods. Summary Information S1Category: The menu item category for which summary information appearsin subsequent columns. S2 # Items Current: The number of items in thecategory shown in S1 that were sold in the current period. S3 # ItemsPrior: The number of items in the category shown in S1 that were sold inthe prior period. S4 Change: The percentage of difference between thenumber of items sold in the current (S2) and prior (S3) periods. S5 ItemMix Current: The percentage of total number of items sold in thecategory shown in S1 that were sold in the current period. S6 Item MixPrior: The percentage of total number of items sold in the categoryshown in S1 that were sold in the prior period. S7 Change: Thepercentage of difference between the item mix in the current (S5) andprior (S6) periods. S8 $ Mix Current: The percentage of total salesrepresented by the category shown in S1 that were sold in the currentperiod. S9 $ Mix Prior: The percentage of total sales represented by thecategory shown in S1 that were sold in the prior period. S10 Change: Thepercentage of difference between the dollar value of the category in thecurrent (S5) and prior (S6) periods. S11 Food: The weighted food costpercentage for the category shown in S1. (To ensure an accuratepercentage, the cost of all items in the category were summed and thendivided by the total sales for the category.) S12 Paper: The weightedpaper cost percentage for the category shown in S1. (To ensure anaccurate percentage, the cost of all items in the category were summedand then divided by the total sales for the category.) S13 F/P: Theweighted total food and paper cost percentage for the category shown inS1. (To ensure an accurate percentage, the cost of all items in thecategory were summed and then divided by the total sales for thecategory.) Summary Total Information ST1 # Items Current: The total ofall categories for S2. ST2 # Items Prior: The total of all categoriesfor S3. ST3 Change: The percentage of difference between the totalnumber of items sold in all categories in the current (ST1) and prior(ST2) periods. ST4 Food: The weighted food cost percentage for allcategories. ST5 Paper: The weighted paper cost percentage for allcategories. ST6 F/P: The weighted total food and paper cost percentagefor all categories.

Periodic Sales Data Definition

This report includes three sections—the header, detail, and modulerecap.

Header Information H1 Stores: The stores included in the report, shownby group name and/or store number. H2 Current Period: The beginning andending dates of the current period analyzed. H3 Prior Period: Thebeginning and ending dates of the prior period analyzed. H4 DateGrouping: The time period by which comparisons of the current and priorperiods will be grouped in the Date column (D1). The user may choose anyof the days of the week, week or period. H5 Data: The business metricfor which data is shown. It could be one of several metrics, includingsales, deposit, cash +/−, items per transaction, average ticket, counterticket, percent beverage, transactions, overring dollars, overringpercent, number of overrings, delete dollars, delete percent, number ofdeletes, drive through time, counter time, number of cars, drive throughdollars, drive through dollars percent, average per car, or ICOSvariance. Detail Information D1 Date: The time period by which thecomparisons in subsequent columns of the current and prior periods arebroken down. The selected time period variable, set at the time thereport is requested, is shown in H4. D2 Current: The total for thecurrent period shown in H2 for the metric shown in H5. D3 Prior: Thetotal for the prior period shown in H3 for the metric shown in H5. D4Change: The difference between the current and prior period. D5Increase/(Decrease) %: The percentage of increase or decrease of thecurrent period over the prior period. Module Recap Information MR1 Date:The active date range for the module described in MR2. MR2 Description:The description of the module. MR3 Origin: The origin of themodule-either national or local.

Price Variation Report Data Definition

This report includes two sections—the heading and the detail. Theheading information appears only on the first page of the document. Thedetail is divided by menu item.

Header Information H1 Stores: The stores included in the report, shownby group name and/or store number. H2 Date Range: The beginning andending dates of the period analyzed, as well as the type of dates shown(calendar or accounting). H3 Overcharge: The total amount overcharged tocustomers. H4 Undercharge: The total amount undercharged to customers.H5 Net: The result of H3 minus H4. Detail Information D1 Menu Item: Thesix-character code of the menu item. D2 Menu Item Name: The descriptivename of the menu item. D3 Price: The price shown in the system for themenu item; the price against which the actual price paid by the customer(taken from the daily extract file) is compared. D4 Over/(Under): Thetotal dollar value of the transactions for this menu item that reporteda variance. D5 Business Date: The date which one or more transactionsfor this menu item reported a variance. D6 Store: The store number andname reporting the variance. D7 Quantity Sold: Number of menu items soldat a variance for the business date given in D5. D8 Price: The pricecharged for the menu item. D9 Over/(Under): The total variance for thenumber of items shown in D7.

Planned Sales Data Definition

This report includes three sections—the heading, the detail, and thetotals. The heading information appears only on the first page of thedocument. The totals are only shown at the end of the detail, which mayprint on more than one page.

Header Information H1 Year: The business year for which the plannedsales numbers are shown. H2 Stores: The stores included in the report,shown by group name and/or store number. Detail Information D1 StoreNumber: The store number for which plan numbers are given in subsequentcolumns. D2 Menu Item Name: The planned sales number for the periodshown in the column heading. D3 Price: The total planned sales for thestore shown in D1 for all 13 periods of the year shown in H1. TotalInformation D4 Period Total: The total planned sales for the periodshown in the column heading. D5 Year Total: The total of planned salesfor all 13 periods of the year shown in H1.

Day Part Mix Report Data Definition

This report includes six sections—header criteria, header performance,summary, summary total, detail, and detail total. The Detail and DetailTotal sections of this report are not shown in this data definition; thedata definitions are identical in content to the Summary and SummaryTotal sections, except that they give data for one store.

Header Criteria HC1 Stores: The stores included in the report, shown bygroup name and/or store number. HC2 Current Period: The period for whichthe report is made, including the number of days in the period and thenumber of stores reported. HC3 Prior Period: The period to which thecurrent period is compared, including the number of days in the periodand the number of stores reported. Header Performance (NOTE: Performancedata is only shown for the current period.) HP1 Day Part: The day partdefined by the user requesting the report, including the name and thetime period. HP2 Average Ticket: The average ticket price for the daypart shown in HP1. (Also shown in S12.) HP3 Transactions per 15 Minutes:The average transactions in the day part shown in HP1 divided by thenumber of 15-minute periods in the day part shown in HP1. Summary S1 DayPart: The day part for which data is reported in subsequent columns. S2# Trans Current: The number of transactions in the current period forthe day part shown in S1. S3 % Trans Current: The percentage of thetotal transactions for the current period that occurred in the day partshown in S1. S4 # Trans Prior: The number of transactions in the priorperiod for the day part shown in S1. S5 % Trans Prior: The percentage ofthe total transactions for the prior period that occurred in the daypart shown in S1. S6 % Change: The percentage of difference between thecurrent period (S2) and prior period (S4) for the day part shown in S1.S7 Sales Current: The dollar value of the transactions in the currentperiod for the day part shown in S1. S8 % Sales Current: The percentageof the total dollar value for the current period that occurred in theday part shown in S1. S9 Sale Prior: The dollar value of thetransactions in the prior period for the day part shown in S1. S10 %Sales Prior: The percentage of the total dollar value for the priorperiod that occurred in the day part shown in S1. S11 % Change: Thepercentage of difference between the current period (S7) and priorperiod (S9) for the day part shown in S1. S12 Avg. Tic Current: Theaverage ticket of all transactions in the current period for the daypart shown in S1. (Also shown in HP2.) S13 % Var Day: The percentage ofdifference between the average ticket in the current period (S12) forthe day part shown in S1 and the average ticket for the average entirebusiness day of the current period (not shown on this report).* S14 Avg.Tic Prior: The average ticket of all transactions in the prior periodfor the day part shown in S1 S15 % Var Day: The percentage of differencebetween the average ticket in the prior period (S14) for the day partshown in S1 and the average ticket for the average entire business dayof the prior period (not shown on this report).* S16 % Change: Thepercentage of difference between the current period (S12) and priorperiod (S14) for the day part shown in S1. *Numbers less than 100 denotethat the average ticket for the day part was less than the averageticket for the entire day (i.e., 99.4% would mean that the day partaverage ticket is .6% less than the average ticket for that period).Numbers over 100 denote that the average ticket for the day partexceeded the average ticket for the entire period by the amount over 100(i.e., 110.4% would mean that the day part average ticket is 10.4%higher than the average ticket for the period).

Summary Total ST1 # Trans Current: The total of all S2 for all day partson the report. ST2 # Trans Prior: The total of all S4 for all day partson the report. ST3 % Change: The average for all S6 for all day parts onthe report. ST4 Sales Current: The total of all S7 for all day parts onthe report. ST5 Sale Prior: The total of all S9 for all day parts on thereport. ST6 % Change: The average for all S11 for all day parts on thereport. ST7 Avg. Tic Current: The average of all S12 for all day partson the report. ST8 Avg. Tic Prior: The average of all S114 for all dayparts on the report.

Menu Item Data Definition

The Menu Item report includes two sections—the header and the detail.

Header Information H1 Report Title: The type of report. H2 Report Date:The date for which the menu item information is shown. DetailInformation D1 Code: The six-digit code of the menu item taken from thePOS system. D2 Description: The longer description of the itemrepresented by the code in D1. D3 Food Cost: The total cost for all foodused in preparing the item. D4 Paper Cost: The total cost for all paperitems (cups, straws, lids, wrappers, etc.) that are used in the sale ofthe item. D5 Total Cost: The combined food and paper cost of an item. D6Price: The price charged for the item by the POS system. D7 Cost %: Thepercentage of the price of the item (D6) which goes toward food andpaper expenses (D5). D8 Margin %: The percentage of the price of theitem (D6) which remains after subtracting food and paper costs (D5).

Although the invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments, the description herein is intended to be illustrative ofthe many variations and alternatives contemplated by the invention. Theinvention contemplates reporting variables and functions other than thespecific ones described herein, for example drive-through timerconnectivity allowing acquisition of data from a restaurant'sdrive-through timer, for reporting and analysis purposes. Audio andvideo broadcasting and e-mail, and chat communication capabilities, arecontemplated as well. Smart card integration enables customerrecognition and personalizes a customer's experience. A guest can swipehis or her smart card and can be greeted by name, asked if he or shewill have “the usual,” told how much time has elapsed since the previousvisit, etc. Integration with other databases is contemplated, forexample those tracking customer complaints, mystery shopping reports,etc. Other contemplated reports include sales tax reports and per-storeaverage sales reports. Transaction level detail analysis is alsocontemplated, to determine which items were bought within a specifictransaction and to generate reports accordingly. A variety ofprogramming languages can be used to effect the various described andcontemplated embodiments, for example SQL Visual Basic or otherlanguages. As point-of-sale systems change and as data becomes availablefrom additional sources in computer form, embodiments of the inventionwill accept that data and include that information in its reports. Anyone of these or previously described functionalities, of course, can beconsidered optional to the overall system.

In summary, embodiments of the invention allow management informationfrom a variety of sources to be moved quickly from the collection pointin the store to the corporate office, combined in a variety of formatsthat take advantage of the data's interconnectedness, and pushed quicklyback out to managers and store personnel, for example, so thatoperations can be refined and improved at all levels. As a result, usersat all levels of a variety of business organizations can make businessdecisions that are based on current information describing all parts ofthe operation, in a manner heretofore believed unknown in the prior art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of generating custom reports based onrestaurant point-of-sale data transferred between multiple remotecomputing devices and a central computing device, the method comprising:(a) transferring point-of-sale data to a central computing device frommultiple computing devices at multiple remote locations, wherein suchlocations comprise restaurants; (b) a restaurant-industry user logginginto a web site for the purpose of defining a custom report format usingan Internet-browser interface, wherein such defining is initiated withweb-based report generating selection operations starting from a reportinitiating page and concluding with a report request selection, whereinthe selection operations include: displaying on a page one or morereport formats, wherein each displayed report format is presented atleast in part with textual information indicative of the nature of thereport format, wherein the page is configured to process a selectionoperation from the restaurant-industry user that specifies at least oneof the report formats, and wherein the at least one report formataccesses a selected portion of the point-of-sale data as defined in oneor more queries used to populate the at least one report format;displaying on a page one or more remote locations associated with therestaurant-industry user according to one or more user permissions thatcan be assigned by an administrator on a user-by-user basis, whereineach displayed remote location is presented at least in part withtextual information indicative of the remote location, and wherein thepage is configured to process a selection operation from therestaurant-industry user that specifies at least one of the remotelocations; displaying on a page one or more operative data-entry fieldsconfigured to process a selection operation from the restaurant-industryuser that specifies one or more dates or date ranges, wherein theoperative data-entry fields are substantially only those required toobtain the dates or date ranges associated with the at least onespecified report format; wherein the restaurant-industry user navigatesbetween one or more of the selection operations using Internet-browsernavigation mechanisms; and wherein access to and administration of theunderlying point-of-sale data is controlled as a function of the reportformats and remote locations made available for the user to choose indefining the custom report format so that the user obtains access onlyto a selected portion of the point-of-sale data; (c) generating a customreport using the custom report format, the custom report being based onpoint-of-sale data related to the specified remote locations and thespecified dates or date ranges; and (d) enabling the restaurant-industryuser to view or obtain the generated custom report using the Internet.2. The method of claim 1, wherein (b) includes communicating the customreport format over the Internet from the central computing device. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein (b) includes specifying a subset of themultiple remote locations on which to base the custom report.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein (b) includes displaying the operativedata-entry fields configured to receive input from therestaurant-industry user that specifies a date range covering multipledays.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein (b) includes displaying theoperative data-entry fields configured to receive input from therestaurant-industry user that specifies intraday time periods.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein (a) occurs automatically on a daily basis. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein (b) includes displaying the operativedata-entry fields configured to receive input from therestaurant-industry user that specifics a current period and a priorperiod, and wherein (c) includes comparing point-of-sale data from thecurrent period and the prior period.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein(c) includes excluding current-period point-of-sale data from thecomparison if corresponding prior-period point-of-sale data isnon-existent.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method furthercomprises (e) storing point-of-sale data for each of the remotelocations at a location associated with the central computing device.10. The method of claim 1, wherein (c) includes combining point-of-saledata transferred in (a).
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising(e) creating a report subscription on a recurring subscription basis.12. The method of claim 11, wherein (d) comprises enabling therestaurant-industry user to obtain an e-mail containing the generatedcustom report.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein (a) includestransferring point-of-sale data that is generated by one or more cashregisters at each remote location.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein(b) includes specifying any combination of multiple remote locations onwhich to base the custom report.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein (b)occurs using a graphical user interface.
 16. The method of claim 1,wherein (b) includes displaying the remote locations in a hierarchicalformat and presenting the hierarchical format to the user.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, wherein (b) includes displaying the remote locationsin a hierarchical format that divides the remote locations and/or remotecomputing devices into organizational units, and wherein each remotelocation and/or remote computing device appears in multipleorganizational units.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein transferringpoint-of-sale data to a central computing device includes transferringpoint-of-sale data to at least one processor and at least one storagedevice.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the reportformats, displaying the remote locations, and displaying the operativedata-entry fields occurs on different pages.